THE BOURNE LEGACY – Production Notes - I Watch Mike

emotional chaos in her private life. She’s been ignoring
some pretty heavy moral contradictions in her work
for Outcome, and when things explode she’s launched
into about as hardcore an odyssey as any character I’ve
ever written. And by the end of the film she’s not just
surviving, she’s kicking ass. It’s a demanding role.”
Much to the filmmakers’ delight, Academy
Award ® winner Rachel Weisz, known for her powerful
performances in such films as The Constant Gardener,
The Lovely Bones and The Whistleblower, was eager for
the challenges that lie ahead and the results were more
than they had hoped for. Gilroy recalls: “The bar for
credibility is very high in this franchise, and she gave us
more than we ever dreamed of. I knew how good she was,
but I was still astonished by what she brought to the film.
She pretty much surpassed my expectations every day.”
Marta is a workaholic, utterly devoted to her
groundbreaking research as a biochemist at a top-secret
lab in Maryland. Reflects Weisz: “She’s at the cutting
edge of science, and she thinks she’s contributing to her
country. But at the same time, she does secretly know
that what she’s doing has great moral ambiguity to it.”
Marta’s choice to ignore the potential consequences
of her trials on patients intrigued the actress. “I
would be less interested in her if she were just doing
something good and saving the world.
What she’s doing is a little dubious.”
Marta’s mundane life is turned upside
down and she becomes a target when
Outcome is rapidly shut down and she
is perceived as simply residual cleanup.
Aaron—a man whom she has examined
multiple times in four years but doesn’t
know well—appears in time to save her,
and the two quickly form a relationship
out of necessity. “Marta is hesitant to
go with him, but she doesn’t have any
other alternative,” Weisz explains. “The
people who represent law and order in
her country just tried to kill her. She is a
– 25 –
regular woman who happens to be good at science, but
not good at evading the police authorities of the globe.”
Weisz was intrigued by the backstories that the
Gilroys had created for these two characters. “They’re
incredibly driven in very different ways,” adds Weisz.
“Marta and Aaron come from completely different
back grounds, and they end up relying on one another
for dif fer ent reasons. That’s a really fascinating way to
create a story.”
While filming in New York and in Southeast Asia,
Weisz discovered that she and Renner had similar
approaches to their work. “We’re very different people,
and we come from different backgrounds but we have a
similar way of working,” the actress observes. “Jeremy’s
very free and loose and pretty wild, and wonderful to
work with. I’ve loved every minute opposite him.”
Weisz also sees a bit of a rebel in her director: “Tony
has a very rock ’n’ roll spirit, which is ‘Let’s find chaos
and abandon, and let’s go,’ which is great for acting.
He’s an unusual combination in a writer/director, and
I’m happy to be in his band.”
To play the role of ret. Col. Ric Byer, the ruthless
head of NRAG—the organization behind the secret
program of agents that began with Treadstone, evolved
into Blackbriar, and now operates Outcome, among
Byer lectures Cross on the agent’s duty.